Everything You Need to Know About Exercising After Getting an IUD
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Everything You Need to Know About Exercising After Getting an IUD

Everything You Need to Know About Exercising After Getting an IUD
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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When it comes to pregnancy and your workout routine, most of the chatter is about how to exercise when you are pregnant — not how to do so if you’re trying to prevent pregnancy. But you actually do need to think twice before working out after an intrauterine device (IUD) insertion — at least in the very short term.

Below, ob-gyns answer all your questions about exercising after getting an IUD, including how long you should wait to exercise after IUD insertion and whether exercise can dislodge an IUD.

When Can I Exercise After IUD Insertion?

You should wait 24 hours after IUD insertion before hitting the gym, says Felice Gersh, MD, an ob-gyn and author of PCOS SOS: A Gynecologist’s Lifeline to Naturally Restore Your Rhythms, Hormones, and Happiness. “After either hormonal or nonhormonal IUD insertion, the standard recommendation is to wait one day before exercising,” she says.

To understand why experts recommend against running from the doctor’s office to your favorite workout studio, it’s helpful to learn about the insertion process, Dr. Gersh says. The IUD is inserted into the uterine cavity. To access the uterus, doctors insert a thin tube (or slider), which contains the IUD into the teeny-tiny hole in the cervix.

Once the slider is in place, a plunger inside the slider is used to push the IUD into place in the uterus. Then, the slider is removed from the vaginal canal while the IUD is left behind, Gersh says.

This is generally considered a minor procedure, but a “foreign object” is being placed inside the uterus. Some people experience pain or cramping for a few hours afterward as the body adjusts to the feeling of the device, Gersh says.

Mild cramping immediately following insertion is the most common symptom. “The uterus is basically a big ball of muscle, and just as other muscles can cramp, so can the uterus,” Gersh says. The pain can be worse for some individuals than for others.

Waiting a day to return to exercise helps keep cramps from worsening. “And it gives time for the body to adjust to having a foreign object in it,” Gersh says

Can Exercise Dislodge an IUD?

There is no evidence that exercising immediately following insertion can cause the IUD to shift inside your uterus, or cause the IUD to expel from your body completely, Gersh says. “Even if you were to run a marathon right after getting the IUD inserted, the risk of partial expulsion, expulsion, or shifting is very marginal,” she says. In other words, your moving won’t move the device.

Exercising does not increase the odds of the IUD being expelled after the 24-hour mark, either. Data suggests somewhere between 3 and 10 percent of women will expel their IUD.

 But there is no connection between exercising and higher rates of expulsion or dislodging.

While the cause of expulsion is not known exactly, age, pregnancy history, and overall health all seem to be involved. “When expulsion happens, it typically happens within the first 12 weeks of insertion,” Gersh adds.

Common symptoms of IUD expulsion include:

  • Cramping
  • Heavy or abnormal bleeding
  • Abnormal discharge
  • Fever
  • You or your partner can feel the device during penetration

Whether you just wrapped up a sweat session or not, if you think your IUD is causing pain or bleeding, call your healthcare provider. “If you have concerns about expulsion or are experiencing any long-lasting or worsening pain from IUD insertion, you should consult a medical professional who can help give you a personalized treatment plan and assessment,” says ob-gyn Amy Roskin, MD, chief medical officer of Seven Starling.

IUD Side Effects and Exercise

After getting an IUD, some people notice changes in their menstrual cycle that can affect their ability to move and groove.

Nonhormonal IUDs, for example, can cause heavier, longer, more painful menses for some, according to Alyssa Dweck, MD, an ob-gyn and author of The Complete A to Z for Your V. Hormonal IUDs are associated with irregular bleeding and may increase cramping during that time of the month, she says.

“Menstrual cramping and pain and tiredness can interfere with someone’s ability to move and exercise,” Dr. Roskin says. If your symptoms are severe, you may need to take an additional rest day the week of your period.

Or, you may choose to dial back the intensity. “Some people find that light and low-volume physical activity like walking or light cardio, yoga, and weight training with low weights can help minimize these symptoms,” Roskin says. Heavy weights and strenuous exercise may worsen symptoms — especially if you’re dehydrated, she notes.

Don’t want to schedule your workouts around your flow? There are other things you can do to alleviate period pain. “Over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen can help treat cramping from period pain,” Roskin says. “Taking a bath, drinking tea, or using a heating pad can also help to ease cramps.”

Sex and orgasm can also provide relief, adds Dr. Dweck.

The Takeaway

  • You should plan to lay low for the first 24 hours following IUD insertion to avoid exacerbating cramping or bleeding.
  • If you must exercise post-insertion, don’t worry — your IUD isn’t going to come out and you won’t be putting your long-term health at risk.
  • Be sure to contact a healthcare provider if you notice intense cramping or bleeding following insertion.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. What’s an IUD Insertion Like? Planned Parenthood.
  2. Troubleshooting Your IUD. Mayo Clinic. October 20, 2021.
  3. Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC): Intrauterine Device (IUD) and Implant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. April 2024.
  4. Intrauterine Device (IUD). Cleveland Clinic. November 13, 2022.
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Kara Smythe, MD

Medical Reviewer

Kara Smythe, MD, has been working in sexual and reproductive health for over 10 years. Dr. Smythe is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and her interests include improving maternal health, ensuring access to contraception, and promoting sexual health.

She graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in biology and earned her medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She worked in Maine for six years, where she had the privilege of caring for an underserved population.

Smythe is also passionate about the ways that public health policies shape individual health outcomes. She has a master’s degree in population health from University College London and recently completed a social science research methods master's degree at Cardiff University. She is currently working on her PhD in medical sociology. Her research examines people's experiences of accessing, using, and discontinuing long-acting reversible contraception.

When she’s not working, Smythe enjoys dancing, photography, and spending time with her family and her cat, Finnegan.

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Gabrielle Kassel

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Gabrielle Kassel (she/her) is a fitness and wellness journalist who focuses at the intersection of strength training, hormone health, and longevity. In addition to everydayhealth.com, she is a contributor to a number of publications such as Shape, Cosmopolitan, Well+Good, Health, Self, Women’s Health, Greatist, and more! In her free time, Gabrielle can be found training for local CrossFit competitions, coaching classes at her local CrossFit box, hiking with her border collie, or recording episodes of the podcast she co-hosts called Bad In Bed.

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